An analysis of specimens of bodily fluids is extensively used in modern medicine as a diagnostic tool. Hundreds of thousands of such specimens are forwarded by air or ground transport for analysis every week. A portion of these specimens contain highly infectious diseases, and as such, present a potential hazard to those persons handling the specimens during transport. Should a transport worker become infected, there is a danger that the worker's family and other members of the public with whom the transport worker is in communication will also become infected. In recognition of the potential danger presented to the public, the member nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (I.C.A.O.) have adopted packaging instructions for the transportation of medical, biological, and veterinary specimens. The packaging instructions require the use of a leak proof secondary container. The secondary container must have sufficient quantities of an absorbent composition to absorb the entire contents of the specimen container should a leak occur.
Although the packaging described provides a measure of protection, the use of an absorbent composition will not prevent diseases from becoming airborne. In such cases, the health of the laboratory worker is placed at risk when the secondary container is opened. The health of the transport worker is, similarly, exposed to airborne diseases should the integrity of the secondary container become compromised.